Monday, April 2, 2012

Welcome J.E. Taylor

Welcome to Day 2 of my Crystal
Illusions release tour and I and I want to thank Roseanne Dowell for having me.

CRYSTAL ILLUSIONS by J.E. Taylor

Assistant D.A. Carolyn Hastings has an
uncanny knack for putting away criminals. With one of the best prosecution
records in recent history, her future as Manhattan’s next District Attorney
looks certain. But her sixth sense for winning cases threatens to work against
her when she starts seeing a string of murders through the eyes of the killer

With suspects piling up as fast as bodies,
and the motives of those closest to her questionable, Carolyn doesn’t know who
to trust. When the FBI assigns Special Agent Steve Williams to the case,
Carolyn discloses her deepest fear - that the man she loves may be the one
responsible for the city’s latest crime spree.

The only thing Steve knows for sure is
Carolyn has an inexplicable psychic connection with the killer, and all the
victims have one thing in common…a striking resemblance to Carolyn Hastings.

And he knows it’s only a matter of time
before this psychopath knocks on her door.

Praise for CRYSTAL ILLUSIONS

“Taylor has a strong thriller where every
single character has reasonable doubt flashing like a neon sign hanging over
them, and right from the beginning you are trying to guess who the killer
really is. Gripping, rich and magnificent - crime whodunnits don't get any
better than this!” Author Poppet /
Gemma Rice – Author of Quislings, Blindsided, Djinn and Dusan

Excerpt from CRYSTAL ILLUSIONS:

Randy
turned his head in her direction, the hot shower had done nothing to quell his
aggravation and he carefully examined his response. How do I explain a black eye and the blood on my clothing to the
assistant D.A? It was almost laughable, but the earlier events had dampened
his mood. The truth would land him in a shitload of trouble, but he couldn’t
brush it off either. “I went to meet a client and got mugged on the way back.”

Carolyn’s
eyes grew hard as she took a step back. “I had another vision.” She took
another step toward the bathroom door.

Randy’s
eyebrows drew together at the question in her eyes. A vision, shit. She thinks I’m responsible? The sudden realization
of her thought process burned through him like a ravaged wild fire. “You think
I…”

Carolyn
bolted out of the room.

“Fuck!”
Randy cursed and grabbed a towel, sliding on the tile floor as he made a bid to
catch her. Her hands shook as she tried to navigate the dead bolt on the front
door and he grabbed her arm before she figured out how to unlatch it. He had to
stop her, to convince her it wasn’t him and he spun her toward him. “I didn’t
kill anyone.”

“But
you weren’t mugged either!”

Randy’s
shoulders slumped and his gaze traveled to the balcony and the bloody shoes.
“No, I wasn’t mugged. But I’m not the Scarlet Psychopath either.” He brought
his gaze back to hers.

“You
were covered with blood when you came in, what the hell am I supposed to
think?” She yanked her arm from his grasp. “And your face, that’s where she hit
him with her purse.” Carolyn’s voice trembled as she pressed her back to the
door.

The
fear in her eyes churned his desperation into raging fury. She believed he was
capable of murder, of killing innocent women—women that looked like her. “Go
ahead, test the blood.” Randy pointed at the balcony, his anger bleeding from
between his clenched teeth. “It’s beef and pork blood, from my family’s meat
packing plant.” He turned and stormed back into the bathroom, slamming the door
behind him.

He
drew on a pair of jeans and returned to the living room “How the hell can you
think I’m capable of that!” Anger radiated in waves.

Tears
brimmed and slid down her cheeks. “Your trench coat, now this…”

“Jesus,
Carolyn.” Randy ran his hand through his wet hair, her accusation stewing,
stirring his anger into a tizzy.

“I
couldn’t reach you the other night after the nightmare and tonight you weren’t
here. Do you have an alibi for the other murders?”

Randy
couldn’t believe her audacity, her ability to believe he was capable of such
things. “If it happened at night, I was here. During the day I’m working.”

Her
head dropped to her chest and her lips pressed together. “I have to go.”

Of course she’s going to run. That’s
what she does when things get tough. “I’ll take you home.” He
turned before she could argue coming back moments later fully dressed. He
grabbed his trench coat and ripped open the front door.

“Randy.”
The glare he sent her stopped her in her tracks.

“You
think I’m a murderer. What else can I say?” he snapped. “This…” He pointed between
the two of them. “Is over.” He stabbed the down button and waited for the
elevator.

Thanks for joining me on this
blog tour venture – and remember – I’ll be on tour throughout the month,
including a giveaway over at Bitten By Books (www.bittenbybooks.com) on April
20th, where you have a chance to win a $50 Amazon Gift Card. I’ll be asking questions relating to my tour
posts – so check out my Crystal
Illusions blog schedule for a chance to win.
(http://jetaylor75.blogspot.com)

J.E.
Taylor is a writer, a publisher, an editor, a manuscript formatter, a mother, a
wife and a business analyst, not necessarily in that order. She first sat
down to seriously write in February of 2007 after her daughter asked:
“Mom, if you could do anything, what would you do?”
From that moment on, she hasn’t looked back and now her writing resume includes
six+ published novels along with several short stories on the virtual shelves
including a few within eXcessica anthologies.In addition to being co-owner of Novel Concept Publishing (www.novelconceptpublishing),
Ms. Taylor also moonlights as an Assistant Editor of Allegory (www.allegoryezine.com), an online venue for Science Fiction,
Fantasy and Horror. She has been known to edit a book or two and also offers
her services judging writing contests for various RWA chapters.
She lives in Connecticut with her husband and two children and during the
summer months enjoys her weekends on the shore in southern Maine.